Courting Death: Aristocrats and the Symbolism of Dynastic Authority at Habsburg and British Royal Funerals, 1694-1780

Abstract

Royal funerals are a window, one of many, that offer a glimpse into the different ritual and ceremonial mechanisms employed by courtiers to safeguard their hereditary privileges within their respective regimes. This dissertation argues that the eighteenth-century British and Habsburg monarchical households were essential to maintaining the symbolic dynastic stability of their respective regimes through control of their funeral rituals. This argument will comparatively analyze four components of British and Habsburg funerals. First, it will examine how aristocrats within the two households organized and interpreted funerary rites. Second, it will consider how officials modified mourning regulations to enforce social hierarchy and aristocratic privilege. Third, this thesis will explore shifts to the courts’ control over the monarch’s corpse, comparing preservation and lying-in-state traditions that reinforced dynastic legitimacy. Finally, a close reading will be conducted on the funeral services for both monarchies. The analysis will demonstrate how the British Royal Household expanded its control over the funeral ceremonies as they became more private, while Habsburg officials maintained traditional rites amidst evolving conceptions of monarchical sacrality during the Enlightenment. Sources have been used from archives in Vienna, London, and Oxford, offering a comprehensive analysis of the entire funeralization process. It reveals how these grand, theatrical pageants were instrumental for household institutions in shaping the ritual culture of their respective states, ensuring their central role in monarchical authority. The dissertation contributes to the scholarly understanding of royal funerals, providing one of the most detailed accounts in English of these overlooked ceremonies in early modern history.